Jaclyn B Caccese1, Barry A Bodt2, Grant L Iverson3,4, Thomas W Kaminski5, Kelsey Bryk6, Jessie Oldham7, Steven P Broglio8, Michael McCrea9, Thomas McAllister10, Thomas A Buckley11. 1. School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, 453 W 10th Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA. 2. College of Health Sciences, University of Delaware, 540 S. College Ave, Newark, DE, 19713, USA. 3. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Spaulding Research Institute, MassGeneral Hospital for Children Sports Concussion Program and Home Base, A Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Program, Boston, USA. 4. Center for Health and Rehabilitation Research, 79/96 Thirteenth Street, Charlestown, MA, 20129, USA. 5. Interdisciplinary Biomechanics and Movement Science Program, Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, 541 S. College Ave, Newark, DE, 19716, USA. 6. Interdisciplinary Biomechanics and Movement Science Program, Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, 100 Discovery Blvd, Newark, DE, 19713, USA. 7. The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Boston Children's Hospital, 9 Hope Ave, Waltham, MA, 02453, USA. 8. Michigan Concussion Center, University of Michigan, 401 Washtenaw Ave, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, USA. 9. Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA. 10. Indiana University School of Medicine, Goodman Hall, 355 W. 16th St., Suite 4800, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA. 11. Interdisciplinary Biomechanics and Movement Science Program, Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, 100 Discovery Blvd, Newark, DE, 19713, USA. tbuckley@udel.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Collegiate football players who started playing tackle football before age 12 years did not show worse neuropsychological test performance than those who started playing tackle football after age 12 years. It is unknown if beginning other contact sports, such as lacrosse, at a younger age is associated with worse neurocognitive performance, greater psychological distress, or worse postural stability in collegiate student athletes. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between estimated age of first exposure (eAFE) to repetitive head impacts (RHI) and these outcome measures in collegiate student athletes. METHODS: 1891 female and 4448 male collision/contact (i.e., football, ice hockey, lacrosse, wrestling, soccer) and non-contact (i.e., golf, rifle, rowing/crew, swimming, tennis) sport athletes completed baseline testing, including the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT), Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (BSI-18), and Balance Error Scoring System (BESS). RESULTS: For women, the eAFE-by-sport interaction was associated with ImPACT Verbal Memory and Visual Memory, whereby earlier eAFE to contact sports was associated with higher composite scores (B = - 0.397, B = - 0.485, respectively). For men, the eAFE-by-sport interaction was associated with BSI-18 Depression and Global Severity Index and symptom severity scores, whereby earlier eAFE to football was associated with lower psychological distress and symptom severity [Depression, Exp(B) = 1.057; Global Severity Index, Exp(B) = 1.047; Symptom Severity, Exp(B) = 1.046]. Parameter estimates were small suggesting these results may have minimal practical relevance. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that RHI during early adolescence is unrelated to brain health as measured by these specific outcome measures in collegiate student athletes.
BACKGROUND: Collegiate football players who started playing tackle football before age 12 years did not show worse neuropsychological test performance than those who started playing tackle football after age 12 years. It is unknown if beginning other contact sports, such as lacrosse, at a younger age is associated with worse neurocognitive performance, greater psychological distress, or worse postural stability in collegiate student athletes. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between estimated age of first exposure (eAFE) to repetitive head impacts (RHI) and these outcome measures in collegiate student athletes. METHODS: 1891 female and 4448 male collision/contact (i.e., football, ice hockey, lacrosse, wrestling, soccer) and non-contact (i.e., golf, rifle, rowing/crew, swimming, tennis) sport athletes completed baseline testing, including the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT), Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (BSI-18), and Balance Error Scoring System (BESS). RESULTS: For women, the eAFE-by-sport interaction was associated with ImPACT Verbal Memory and Visual Memory, whereby earlier eAFE to contact sports was associated with higher composite scores (B = - 0.397, B = - 0.485, respectively). For men, the eAFE-by-sport interaction was associated with BSI-18 Depression and Global Severity Index and symptom severity scores, whereby earlier eAFE to football was associated with lower psychological distress and symptom severity [Depression, Exp(B) = 1.057; Global Severity Index, Exp(B) = 1.047; Symptom Severity, Exp(B) = 1.046]. Parameter estimates were small suggesting these results may have minimal practical relevance. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that RHI during early adolescence is unrelated to brain health as measured by these specific outcome measures in collegiate student athletes.
Authors: Jena N Moody; Jasmeet P Hayes; Thomas A Buckley; Julianne D Schmidt; Steven P Broglio; Thomas W McAllister; Michael McCrea; Paul F Pasquina; Jaclyn B Caccese Journal: Sports Med Date: 2022-07-06 Impact factor: 11.928